Wonky log cabins + Ruby = A Happy Sunday

Wonky log cabin quilt blocks are a lot harder than they look. That being said, if you follow the instructions they are pretty simple and very fun.

I did not follow the instructions when making this bath mat. I had read through them earlier in the day and tried to remember what I had read. Yeah, that's not recommended. I started out wrong and couldn't really get back on track.

So many things went wrong with this, but I am still OK with it. Not super proud, but OK. It's about 2 inches smaller in each direction than I had planned. I should have added two more rounds, but the reason for that kind of goes back to starting wrong. I should have started by making a bunch of 1-1/2" strips then pieced those rather than freelancing everything and running out of usable fabric pieces. Oh, well. I have started on attempt number 2 and it is going much better. The printed directions are sitting next to my sewing machine. It really is quite amazing what happens when you do what you are supposed to.

Last Sunday, my guy and I decided to ride our bikes 8 miles (and over a big bridge) to one of our favorite neighborhoods. It is a super hip part of town with cute and/or trendy and/or hippie shops lining the street. As we were walking to the end of the block, my guy spotted this beauty sitting next to the dumpster of the old apothecary shop (which is being turned into an Asian Bistro).Instantly I regretted not bringing a motorized vehicle. To say that I wanted this treasure is an understatement. I seriously considered getting a piece of rope, tying it to my beach cruiser and towing it home 8 miles and even if we had to go up a big bridge.

When we (finally) got back home from our 16 mile round trip bike ride up and down a big bridge twice, we hopped in the Single Cab and headed back to the treasure spot. All the way there my guy kept teasing me saying that it wouldn't be there and someone else who had driven there in the first place already took it home. I'm not ashamed to say that I had my fingers crossed the whole way back. Luckily it was still there and we snatched it!

In it's past life this radiant red box was the fiberglass casing of a cooler. I like think it held ice cream treats for sick little girls and boys, or for good little girls and boys who took their medicine without throwing a tantrum.

It has some brackets on the back that would have hinged for a flip top lid. A friend of ours (The Toughest Guy in the Neighborhood, but that's a whole other story) is an electrician and said that the brand name is definitely a freezer manufacturer.

It will now be my new sewing table! I need to clean it up a bit and add a tabletop of course, but I can't wait! I'll put all my fabrics and notions in bins and stack them in the belly. It will be so pretty.

Right now I am sewing on a fold up cardboard table I bought 7 years ago to sell Princess House crystal. It has a hinge in the center so I can't cut very long pieces of fabric on it. It's a sad state. When I start to sew even remotely faster than the turtle setting on my machine, the whole table starts to jump up and down, which causes the machine to jump and all the things on the table to jump and move and go crashing onto the floor. Case in point, I sent my container of full and slightly full bobbins onto the floor. Those really aren't that fun to pick up.

Back to old red. I need to think of a name for her. A lot of sewers name their dress form, but I really feel a connection to this table. I'm bouncing a few around, but I haven't made up my mind yet. Maybe Ruby. Maybe...

Please let me introduce you to Black-Eyed Pea. She was running around the yard when I was taking pictures of Ruby. The camera is Pea's cue to ham it up. She kept running in front of Ruby, or laying next to her when I was taking these pictures. I snapped one of Pea alone so she wouldn't feel left out.

Yeah, I think Ruby may fit. I'll try it out on her and see what she thinks.

=]